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Dead animals or birds

Adur & Worthing Councils will remove, or arrange to remove, dead animals (eg cats, dogs, badgers, foxes), birds and larger animals, (eg deer), from public land and highway's including verges, with the exception of the A27 Trunk Road, which is the responsibility of the Highways Agency.

Adur & Worthing Councils will also arrange removal of dead animals found washed up on the beach (eg dolphins, seals, whales).

Dead animals will normally be removed within 48 hours of being reported to ensure that it does not pose a health hazard.

The removal of dead animals from private land is the duty of the landowner.

Usually the bodies of domestic pets will be retained for a day or so (depending upon their condition), to allow time for their owners to collect them, should they so wish.

Adur & Worthing Councils scan dead domestic pets to see whether they have an electronic tag. We use the tag number to obtain the owners contact details. We also keep a record of all dead domestic pets collected and, as far as possible this is matched against the log of all animals reported missing to us.

When you report a dead animal to us please ensure you supply the following information:

location of the dead animal (eg an adjacent or nearby address)

brief details of the animal (such as type, colour, size)

and the time at which you saw the animal

If you would like to report a dead animal that you have seen please ring 01903 851729 or send waste an e-mail or use the:

Injured animals or birds and animal cruelty - RSPCA

If you find an injured animal or bird then please report it to the RSPCA's 24-hour national cruelty and advice line 0300 1234 999. You will need to provide details of the animal and precise location.

Where possible and safe to do so, confine the animal and/or stay with it, keeping it quiet, still and warm. Do NOT attempt to feed or give water to any injured animal.

Although the RSPCA can be contacted at any time of day or night, RSPCA inspectors can only attend calls outside normal office hours (9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday) in an emergency. The Society will always do its best to help an animal in need.

The Society relies entirely on voluntary donations so please understand that its resources are far more limited than the other emergency services.

You can also refer to the RSPCA website which give advice on a wide range of subjects:

These diseases are monitored and controlled by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs).

For news of the latest situation, control or contingency plans, movement guidance, licences, useful information and interactive maps of current restriction zones regarding these issues please see the relevant DEFRA webpages: